Meisenberg Sinks Game-Winning Free Throws

BALTIMORE, Md. - Sarah Meisenberg drained two free throws with
four seconds left to break a 52-all tie and lift Franklin &
Marshall to a 54-52 victory over Johns Hopkins in Centennial
Conference (CC) women's basketball action on Tuesday night.

Meisenberg scored 19 of her season and game-high 24 points in
the second half, and Cara Landolfi tallied her second straight
double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to help the Diplomats
(3-1, 2-0 CC) post their second consecutive win over the Blue Jays
(1-5, 0-1 CC) in Baltimore.

Three players reached double digits for Johns Hopkins, including
15 points from Lyndsay Burton. Kristin Phillips led the Blue Jays
on the boards with 12 while adding 11 points and Anastasia Wynn
contributed 11.

The second half proved to be a sea-saw battle between the two
teams with 17 lead changes and six times to take this game to the
wire with F&M coming out on top for its second conference
victory.

Meisenberg scored six of the Diplomats' seven points over the
final 4:04 of the contest, driving in for two consecutive layups to
get within one point at 52-51. Johns Hopkins suffered two turnovers
and sent Miriam Marcis to the line with 50 seconds left.

Marcis went 1-for-2 to knot the game at 52-all and the Blue Jays
lost possession for a third time in just two minutes to force the
foul, sending Meisenberg to the line for two shots. Meisenberg
connected on both with time expiring to complete the night with
7-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe.

After F&M took a small 5-3 lead at the beginning of the
first half, but a three-pointer by Phillips sparked a 9-0 run to
take a seven-point lead with 10:44 left to play in the half. Amy
Chabitnoy scored the next four points to make it 12-9 and Johns
Hopkins responded with five straight points for a 17-9 lead.

It was Landolfi's turn to help the Diplomats close the gap,
completing a three-point play and driving in for a layup before
Chabitnoy got another layup at 19-16. The Blue Jays held onto the
lead to finish the half a head 25-20, despite two free throws from
Meisenberg and Sara Wolman.

The biggest lead by one team in the second half was three
points, with Johns Hopkins holding it only three times and not for
long.